FAME Africa

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Advancing patient-centered care in rural Africa. Patient names are changed, explicit consent granted. Dr. Artress is an American physician. Kilimanjaro.

The Foundation for African Medicine & Education is a non-profit corporation registered in the United States. It was created to improve the quality of medical care in East Africa. FAME endeavors to help bridge the gap between a critically under-resourced healthcare system and first-world medicine. FAME is currently focused on improving the quality and accessibility of medical care in Tanzania and making a difference in the day-to-day lives of the Tanzanian people. He has traveled extensively and participated in medical relief projects around the globe. His wife, Susan, is trained in counseling and educational psychology and has worked for many years in school-based mental health and prevention. Frank and Susan have lived and worked in Tanzania since 2003and currently reside in Karatu, Tanzania. They coordinate and oversee the day-to-day operations of all FAME projects. Certain places on the planet can capture a person's heart and alter the direction of one's life. For us, Tanzania is such a place. At the start of the new millenium we found ourselves at a crossroads and began to experience a shift in how we wanted to spend the second half of our lives. For years, we had talked about climbing Mt. Finally in July of 2002, we began our ascent of the highest peak in Africa. At the time, we could not have known Frank would nearly die atop that mountain, nor how those critical moments would shape the rest of our lives. The perseverance, generosity, and resourcefulness of our guide and his crew awakened us to the resilience of the human spirit - that place inside each of us where grace and strength reside. After several months back in the U.S., we decided to return to Tanzania, this time to contribute back to a people whose voice is rarely heard in the rest of the world, a people who have few opportunities to share their wisdom, their strength, and their dreams with the rest of us. From this place, the Foundation for African Medicine and Education was born. Board of Directors

Frank Artress, Co-Founder & President
Susan Gustafson, Co-Founder & Vice-President
Jeanne Artress, Secretary/Treasurer
Graham Pierce, Director
Jack Paddon, Director
Nancy Paddon, Director

11/04/2026

A mother rushed her seven-year-old to FAME after she swallowed a coin and couldn’t speak. Our Emergency Department was already nearing capacity with four critically ill patients, but thirty minutes later, the child was smiling and playing.

Read the full story through the link below to learn how our team managed it all.

https://fameafrica.org/journal/2026-fame-every-helping-hand

10/30/2026

Since her first visit to FAME in 2019, she has continued to come year-after-year, standing alongside our Nursing Department -- sharing her knowledge, offering guidance, and virtually connecting with our Nurse Manager every two weeks to ensure support continues long after her time in Tanzania.

Her commitment goes beyond nursing mentorship. Together with her family, she has extended her support to FAME’s fundraising efforts, helping advance our mission in more ways than one.

Read the story “Anne Hartman: Our Nursing Mentor” through the link below:
https://fameafrica.org/journal/2026-fame-anne-hartman-our-nursing-mentor

10/27/2026

At FAME, our commitment to enhancing healthcare goes beyond caring for patients. We also serve as a destination for learning, providing medical students, interns, and volunteers with opportunities to gain practical experience, develop their skills, and explore the realities of healthcare delivery. While FAME also welcomes interns and volunteers from outside Tanzania, we are particularly proud to support those from within the country as they learn and grow in their chosen fields.

Through internships and volunteer placements across our campus, the next generation of Tanzanian health workers gain hands-on exposure to a wide range of services, including neurology, maternal health, radiology, laboratory, pharmacy, outpatient care, inpatient wards, the operating theater, and the emergency department. These experiences allow them to learn from real-life clinical situations while working alongside experienced healthcare professionals.

Over the past two years, we have opened our doors to more than 100 medical students and local volunteers, giving them the chance to work within a dynamic healthcare environment alongside our medical teams and visiting experts and volunteers from around the world.

At FAME, we believe that investing in the next generation of healthcare professionals is an important part of building a stronger future for healthcare in Tanzania. By supporting local students and volunteers as they learn, grow, and gain practical experience, we continue to contribute to the development of skilled and compassionate professionals who will make a difference in the communities they serve.

10/22/2026

Because of complications in past pregnancies, Loveness needed to stay at FAME for eight weeks before delivery to give her and her baby the best possible chance of a healthy birth.

In that time, she became part of the Maternity Ward family and earned a new nickname: “Our Ambassador.” She knew every nurse by name, greeted each new patient with a warm smile, and helped other mothers find their way around.

This week, Loveness went home with a healthy, happy baby in her arms. 💛

We are grateful for the generous supporters who help subsidise our maternal health work so that cost never stands between a mother and the care she needs.

Read her full story, “Farewell Our Ambassador,” through the link below:
https://fameafrica.org/journal/2026-fame-farewell-our-ambassador

10/19/2026

When Emergencies Strike, We're Here 24/7

It was well past midnight when Safari arrived at FAME Hospital after being struck by a fast-moving motorcycle. The impact left him with a serious head injury and multiple fractures in his left leg. In those critical moments, access to immediate emergency care made all the difference.

Because FAME's Emergency Department is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Safari was received without delay. The medical team quickly stabilized him before conducting a thorough assessment, including X-rays to evaluate his leg fractures and a CT scan to determine the extent of his head injury.

The diagnostics showed that Safari had sustained multiple fractures in his leg, and that the swelling was too severe for a plaster cast (POP) to be applied safely. Instead, they put together a treatment plan that put his safety first. Once he was stable and his head injury had been fully assessed, Safari was discharged with instructions to return one week later, when the swelling had reduced enough for definitive fracture treatment.

For patients like Safari, emergencies do not wait for daylight. They happen in the middle of the night, on weekends and when families have nowhere else to turn. Thanks to supporters like you, FAME is able to keep its doors open around the clock, ensuring that expert emergency care is available whenever it is needed most. Every patient treated, every scan performed and every life stabilized is possible because of the generosity of partners and donors who believe that no one should face a medical emergency alone.

10/13/2026

Celebrating Five Years of Leadership at FAME

After five remarkable years as FAME’s Managing Director, Rose Tobiassen is moving on to the next chapter in her career. Her leadership has helped strengthen FAME’s fundraising, deepen relationships with donors and partners, and build a strong U.S. presence to advance our mission.

Beyond these achievements, Rose has brought warmth, dedication, and a deep commitment to FAME and the patients and families we serve. She leaves behind a stronger organization and a lasting legacy.

Please join us in thanking Rose for her five years of extraordinary service and wishing her every happiness and success in the journey ahead. She will always be part of the FAME family.

10/10/2026

This Customer Service Week, we celebrate the people who make every patient’s first experience at FAME a welcoming one. 💙

Last year alone, FAME cared for more than 40,000 patients from the rural communities we serve. For every person who walks through our doors, we know that care begins before they ever see a doctor or nurse.

That’s why we bring a customer service mindset to healthcare, drawing on the skills of the hospitality industry in Tanzania to ensure patients are met with kindness, compassion and respect from their very first interaction with our team.

Because excellent healthcare is about more than medical expertise. It’s about making every patient feel welcome, heard and cared for, every step of the way.

10/06/2026

DAF Day is just around the corner. This is the week to make your DAF gift go further!

Recommend a grant to FAME from your Donor Advised Fund this week, and increase your impact by an additional $1,000. A generous FAME supporter will give $1,000 for every DAF grant recommended, up to $25,000. Make your gift to FAME today!

10/05/2026

When the Wild Strikes and The Race Against Venom—these two stories, recently published on FAME’s Journal, share the terrifying tales of two patients.

Recently, we were pleased to welcome our partner Pflaster für Tansania e.V., who came to strengthen our preparedness for emergencies such as these.

During the visit, FAME received the 2027 supply of PANAF-Premium antidote and the clinical team was introduced to the new 2026 guidelines. The team also worked through practical case scenarios, turning the guidelines into real-world preparation for the emergencies that can arrive without warning.

The visit also included the donation of a Meduvent ventilator from WEINMANN, followed by hands-on familiarization with the equipment. The ventilator will support safer and more efficient intra- and inter-hospital transfers of critically ill patients.

For patients who arrive at FAME in the middle of the night, often in critical condition and with little time to spare, preparedness can make all the difference. With updated antidotes, strengthened clinical knowledge, and new equipment for safer patient transfers, our team is better prepared for the next emergency that comes through our doors.

09/29/2026

He doesn't simply tell them where to go. He brings them himself. Starting as early as 4 a.m., he helps people from remote areas make their way by motorcycle and other local transportation to a meeting point in Makuyuni. From there, they board a minibus for the journey to FAME — more than 74 miles round trip. For the past four years, he has made this journey three times a year, consistently bringing members of his community to the care they need.

Who is he?

Discover the story behind his journey. Read “He Who Brings His Community to Care” through the link below:
https://fameafrica.org/journal/2026-fame-he-who-brings-his-community-to-care

Address

4553 Crimsonwood Drive
Redding, CA
96001

Website

http://www.fameafrica.org/, https://fameafrica.org/journal

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